Open-end spinning machine

ABSTRACT

An open-end spinning machine equipped with a plurality of adjacently arranged exchangeable spinning units, each of which comprises a spinning rotor, an opening device for individual fibers and a feed mechanism and the mechanical drive elements of which are detached from the drive elements of the spinning machine by shifting the spinning unit from its operating position to a completely detached position. The spinning unit can be locked in its operating position by a holding device and the spinning unit is lowered by the delocking operation for detaching the drive elements.

United States Patent Stalder Oct. 14, 1975 OPEN-END SPINNING MACHINE 3,667,205 6/1972 Brazda et al. 57/58.89 3,760,577 9/1973 Kihara et al. 57/56 [75] Inventor: F 5mm", wmenhur 3,810,352 5 1974 Miyazaki et al. 57/56 x Switzerland [73] Assignee: Rieter Machine Works Ltd., Primary ExaminerDonald E. Watkins Winterthur, Switzerland Attorney, Agent, or FirmWerner W. Kleeman 22 Filed: Sept. 3, 1974 Appl. No.: 502,909

[30] Foreign Application Priority Data Oct. 19, 1973 Switzerland 14792/73 [52] US. Cl. 57/58.89 [51] Int. Cl. DOIH H12 [58] Field of Search 57/58.8958.95, 56

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,648,450 3/1972 Prochazka et al. 57/58.89

[ ABSTRACT An open-end spinning machine equipped with a plurality of adjacently arranged exchangeable spinning units, each of which comprises a spinning rotor, an opening device for individual fibers and a feed mechanism and the mechanical drive elements of which are detached from the drive elements of the spinning machine by shifting the spinning unit from its operating position to a completely detached position. The spinning unit can be locked in its operating position by a holding device and the spinning unit is lowered by the delocking operation for detaching the drive elements.

7 Claims, 10 Drawing Figures US. Patent Oct. 14, 1975 Sheet 1 of4 3,911,660

US. Patent Oct. 14, 1975 Sheet 2 on 3,911,660

US Patent Oct. 14, 1975 Sheet 3 of4 3,911,660

4 t J L e Fig 6 OPEN-END SPINNING MACHINE BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a new and improved openend spinning machine equipped with a plurality of adjacently arranged exchangeable spinning units, each comprising a spinning rotor, an opening device for individual fibers and a suitable feed mechanism.

Spinning machines are known to the art wherein entire spinning units can be pivoted about a horizontal axis and are detachable in their pivoted state for exchange purposes, e.g. in case of defects.

The pivoting motion of the spinning units is necessitated primarily for providing access to the spinning rotor for cleaning in case of yarn rupture or breakage. If, however, the entire unit is to be taken-off the machine frame, all connecting ducts which remain connected while the unit is pivoted out for rotor cleaning, must be detached. Detaching these connecting ducts has been found to be complicated and time-consuming.

A further spinning machine is known to the art wherein individual spinning units can be detached or mounted without carrying out a previous pivoting movement. A support member containing the spinning unit is slid out of the drive unit towards the front. During this action the drive shafts slide away from the drive belts.

A notable disadvantage of this arrangement resides in the fact that while it is possible to dismantle the spinning unit from the running machine, it is not possible to again insert an identical spinning unit without stopping the entire machine. A device of this type thus is unsuitable for continuous operation since yarn breakages and yarn irregularities are caused by the start-up operation.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It thus is a primary object of the present invention to devise a spinning device of the above-mentioned type which overcomes the disadvantages of the prior art devices and which permits the exchange of spinning units while the machine is stopped as well as while the machine is running with a minimum of manual work and time in a most simple manner.

According to the invention this is achieved in that the spinning unit can be locked in its operating position by a holding device and that the spinning unit is lowered by the de-locking operation for detaching the drive elements.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The invention will be better understood and objects other than those set forth above, will become apparent when consideration is given to the following detailed description thereof. Such description makes reference to the annexed drawings wherein:

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view ofa spinning machine taken along line I-I of FIG. 2;

FIG. 2 is a front view of a spinning machine side;

FIG. 3 is a detail of a holding and lowering device;

FIG. 4a is a cross-sectional view of a holding device taken along line IV-IV of FIG. 3;

FIG. 4b is a cross-sectional view of a holding device in its lowered state;

FIG. 5a is a cross-sectional view of a lowering device taken along line V-V of FIG. 3;

FIG. 5b is a cross-sectional view of a lowering device in its lowered state;

FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view of a lowering device;

FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view of a holding device;

FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view of a guide device taken along line VIII-Vlll of FIG. 3.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Describing now the drawings a spinning machine frame 1 is provided with two superimposed support members 2, 3 extending in the longitudinal direction of the machine, which can take up a plurality of adjacently arranged spinning units 4. Also mounted along the machine are all connections needed for the operation ofa spinning unit 4, such as a drive belt 5 (FIG. 2) for a spinning rotor 6, a drive belt 7 for an opening roll 8, a drive shaft 9 for a feed roll 10, a suction duct 11 as an external vacuum source for the spinning rotor 6, a suction duct 12 as a vacuum source for a recipient or container 13 of a trash removal device on the opening roll (not shown) as well as a connection 14 for the electrical supply to the spinning unit 4.

The spinning unit 4 is provided with pins or bolts 15 and 15 respectively, the associated end head 16 (FIG. 2) of which fits into an opening 17 congruent to the end head 16 arranged in the support members 2 and 3 respectively. The opening 17 merges in its upper part into a slot 17 adapted to the pin 15. The distance between the end head 16 and the back surface of the spinning unit 4 corresponds to the thickness of the support members 2 and 3, so that the spinning unit 4 is supported without play. on the support members. In the spinning unit 4 a pin 18 with a hexagonal socket-head 19 is arranged between the pins 15, and at the front end of which there is arranged an eccentric disc 20, the eccentricity of which, with respect to the pin 18, is indicated by the distance e. The eccentric disc 20, in the operating position (lowest position), fits into a slotopening 21 in the support member 2. The spinning unit in its operating position is thus also secured in the vertical direction.

If the spinning units are arranged with small lateral clearances the side walls of neighboring spinning units also function as guide surfaces for the unit to be exchanged. If this is not the case, a pin 22 (FIG. 7) can be arranged on the spinning unit in such a manner that it protrudes into a vertical elongate or slot-opening 23 in the support member 2 or 3 respectively and the spinning unit 4 is guided.

According to a further embodiment the horizontal slot-opening 21, the opening 17 and the vertical slotopening 23 can be provided with bevelled edges 21, 17' and 23' which facilitate the insertion of a new spinning unit 4 into the machine frame 1, as best seen by referring to FIGS. 6, 7 and 8.

The design of the spinning unit 4 (FIG. 1) is described in the following as far as needed in this context:

From the back side of the spinning unit 4 there protrude a rotor shaft 6, an opening roll shaft 8' and a feed roll shaft 10 with a worm gear 10" and these elements engage with the corresponding drive elements, already discussed above of the spinning machine frame 1. Furthermore, the suction duct 11 is connected via a coupling member 11, the suction duct 12 via a coupling member 12, with a duct or conduit 24 from the spinning rotor 6 and, respectively, with a duct 25 from the waste recipient or container 13. The connection 14 of the supply for the electrical elements is coupled to a corresponding counter member 26 on the spinning machine frame 1 from which it can be detached by lowering the spinning unit 4 by the distance e of the eccentricity of the disc 20.

A cover 27 with a yarn take-off opening 27 which is laterally supported on vertical pivoting axes or shafts 28 (FIG. 2) and held by a spring 29 in its closed position, hermetically seals the rotor housing 30. A cover 31 (FIG. 1) seals a room or compartment 32 containing the opening roll 8 and the feed roll 10. A lever 33 arranged on the front side 34 of the spinning unit 4 is linked by a conventional rod (not shown) to a device 35 which contains a roll 36 for lifting the drive belt off the rotor shaft 6' and further contains a brake surface 37, of which at least the latter is arranged at a distance from the shaft 6 corresponding to about the eccentricity e of the disc while the spinning unit 4 is in its operating position. The device 35 can be arranged on the spinning unit 4 or on the spinning machine frame 1.

Ifin case of disturbances it is necessary to remove the spinning unit 4 from the spinning machine frame 1 then the hexagonal socket-head bolt 19 including the disc 20 is turned 180 from the position shown in FIG. 5a in such a manner that the entire spinning unit 4 is lowered through the distance 2 corresponding to the eccentricity of the disc 20 into the lowest position according to FIG. 5b. As the spinning unit 4 is lowered, all mechanical, pneumatic and electric connections between the spinning unit 4 and the spinning machine 1 are disengaged. From its lowest position the entire spinning unit 4 then is slid out of the machine frame 1 while it is horizontally guided, and in reverse sequence an identical replacement or exchange unit is mounted into the machine frame I. The spinning units, of course, also could be designed in such manner that the unit can be disengaged from the machine by lifting it instead of by lowering it.

A thread feeler or monitor (not shown) in case of thread or yarn breakage of course can interrupt the drive of the feed roll shaft 9 via a magnetic clutch 38 (FIG. 1) in such a manner that the supply of fiber material to the spinning rotor 6 is stopped without lowering the spinning unit. By activating the lever 33 the device 35 also can be shifted in such manner that first the roll 36 lifts the drive belt 5 off the rotor shaft 6 and subsequently the braking surface 37 slows down or brakes the rotor shaft 6.

While there is shown and described present preferred embodiments of the invention, it is to be distinctly understood that the invention is not limited thereto but may be otherwise variously embodied and practiced within the scope of the following claims. Accordingly,

What is claimed is:

1. An open-end spinning machine equipped with a plurality of adjacently arranged exchangeable spinning units, each of which spinning units comprises a spinning rotor, an opening device for individual fibers and a feed mechanism, and the mechanical drive elements of which are detached from drive elements of the spinning machine by shifting the spinning unit from its operating position to a completely detached position, the improvement comprising a holding device for each spinning unit for locking such associated spinning unit in its operating position, said holding device being equipped with means for lowering the spinning unit upon carrying out an unlocking operation for detaching the drive elements.

2. The open-end spinning machine as defined in claim 1, wherein the spinning machine has pneumatic and electrical connecting elements, and each spinning unit has pneumatic and electrical connecting elements, and wherein upon carrying out the unlocking operation the pneumatic and electrical connecting elements of the spinning unit are disengaged from the pneumatic and electrical connecting elements of the spinning machine.

3. The open-end spinning machine as defined in claim 1, wherein said holding device cooperates with the associated spinning unit such that for the complete detachment of such spinning unit the same can be guidingly slid off the spinning machine.

4. The open-end spinning machine as defined in claim 1, wherein each said spinning unit comprises a housing, said lowering means serving to lower said housing and incorporating a rotatable pin having a front end, an eccentric disc seated at said front end, a support member provided with a substantially horizontal slot-like opening, said eccentric disc engaging with said horizontal slot-like opening.

5. The open-end spinning machine as defined in claim 1, wherein each spinning unit comprises a housing, said spinning machine incorporating a machine frame, support members provided for said machine frame, said locking means serving to lock the housing onto the machine frame and comprising at least two pins mounted on the housing and protruding through said support members, said support members being provided with slot-like openings, said pins each having a front end with an end head, said pins engaging by means of said end heads with said slot-like openings.

6. The open-end spinning machine as defined in claim 5, wherein the shape of the end heads of the pins and the slot-like openings in the support members are configured such that after relative mevement of each pin with respect to the associated slot-like opening the pin is guided in said slot-like opening such that there is precluded any lateral displacement.

7. The open-end spinning machine as defined in claim 4, wherein said spinning machine has a machine frame, and said holding device is constructed to preclude axial displacement of the associated spinning unit relative to the spinning machine frame after lifting of the spinning unit. 

1. An open-end spinning machine equipped with a plurality of adjacently arranged exchangeable spinning units, each of which spinning units comprises a spinning rotor, an opening device for individual fibers and a feed mechanism, and the mechanical drive elements of which are detached from drive elements of the spinning machine by shifting the spinning unit from its operating position to a completely detached position, the improvement comprising a holding device for each spinning unit for locking such associated spinning unit in its operating position, said holding device being equipped with means for lowering the spinning unit upon carrying out an unlocking operation for detaching the drive elements.
 2. The open-end spinning machine as defined in claim 1, wherein the spinning machine has pneumatic and electrical connecting elements, and each spinning unit has pneumatic and electrical connecting elements, and wherein upon carrying out the unlocking operation the pneumatic and electrical connecting elements of the spinning unit are disengaged from the pneumatic and electrical connecting elements of the spinning machine.
 3. The open-end spinning machine as defined in claim 1, wherein said holding device cooperates with the associated spinning unit such that for the complete detachment of such spinning unit the same can be guidingly slid off the spinning machine.
 4. The open-end spinning machIne as defined in claim 1, wherein each said spinning unit comprises a housing, said lowering means serving to lower said housing and incorporating a rotatable pin having a front end, an eccentric disc seated at said front end, a support member provided with a substantially horizontal slot-like opening, said eccentric disc engaging with said horizontal slot-like opening.
 5. The open-end spinning machine as defined in claim 1, wherein each spinning unit comprises a housing, said spinning machine incorporating a machine frame, support members provided for said machine frame, said locking means serving to lock the housing onto the machine frame and comprising at least two pins mounted on the housing and protruding through said support members, said support members being provided with slot-like openings, said pins each having a front end with an end head, said pins engaging by means of said end heads with said slot-like openings.
 6. The open-end spinning machine as defined in claim 5, wherein the shape of the end heads of the pins and the slot-like openings in the support members are configured such that after relative mevement of each pin with respect to the associated slot-like opening the pin is guided in said slot-like opening such that there is precluded any lateral displacement.
 7. The open-end spinning machine as defined in claim 4, wherein said spinning machine has a machine frame, and said holding device is constructed to preclude axial displacement of the associated spinning unit relative to the spinning machine frame after lifting of the spinning unit. 